Officials struggle to manage construction waste in Mohali

The city of Mohali is struggling to tackle the growing problem of construction and demolition waste. Across several
prominent roads, vacant plots and public spaces one can find piles of construction rubble lying open and unattended.
While many criticise the lack of action by the local civic body, builders and developers too are to be blamed for the
current state of affairs.
In the recent years, real estate construction has boomed in the city of Mohali, with several high-rise apartments and
luxury housing societies being built. While construction has picked up, the Mohali Municipal Corporation has not
managed to keep pace with tackling the construction waste created as a result of these developments.
In spite of several requests from the government, people of the city continue to dump rubble on the roads rather than
in designated dumping grounds. Government officials too, take little notice of what’s happening. In 2023 only two
people were charged for violating the law and only five people were fined. The total fines collected amount to a merge
Rs 7,000/-.
In a recent public interaction, commissioner Navjot Kaur, expressed his frustration with regard to the current situation.
He confirmed that that there are two official C&D waste processing plants in the city which are capable of processing
and recycling this waste. As per the prevalent laws, construction demolition waste like cement, debris, stones etc.
should be reused after recycling. The waste should not be dumped without processing.
The construction companies must install C&D waste processing plant to process the waste into tiles, blocks etc which
can help reduce the cost of construction by up to 10%. The Mohali administration has installed a C&D waste
processing plant and cement concrete production factory for this very purpose. These plants produce items such as
PCC kerbs, PCC channel, PCC tiles, paver blocks, etc. at a relatively low cost.
The civic body has also introduced a penalty for dumping unauthorized construction debris. However, this has had
little effect. Now, they intend to send their own vehicles to collect waste from construction sites and dump it at the
authorized sites. It will also collaborate with the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority to share information of
all construction sites so that it can send its vehicles to lift all the waste to be processed in either of the dumping sites in
Mohali. Presently Mohali has two authorized dumping sites, one near Sahib Colony in phase 11 and the other at the
Industrial Area in phase VII, in front of the cremation ground.
The Municipal Commissioner stated that illegal dump should be cleared from the city and solid waste management
should help in recycling. Though heavy fines have been announced for violation of laws, implementing the rules have
been a problem. People mostly dump the waste at night to escape from being noticed or penalized. The MC is not so
happy with the performance of Mohali as it secured 121st rank last year in the Swachh Survekshan while, it is now at
109th spot this year.

Next (Kolkata mayor warns: Stop on illegal constructions or face the consequences)

Officials struggle to manage construction waste in Mohali

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